It’s Dhoom time again

The more difficult a role is the more fun it is to do. For circus portions, we had to rope in globally acclaimed circus trainers to coach us. I had to be 30 feet above the ground without safety nets- Aamir Khan

After a seven-year hiatus, Yash Raj Films is set to enthrall the audience again with the franchise that has become a crowd puller. Filling in the anti-hero shoes this time around is none other than Superstar Aamir Khan. While the usual likes of Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra are carrying their characters forward in the new installment, it is Aamir’s role, which is hogging the headlines. Be it the bikes or stylized and sleek action sequences, everything will be in more than required proportions in ‘Dhoom: 3’ believes, Aamir Khan who dropped by Hyderabad along with co-stars Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Katrina Kaif and director Victor (Vijay Krishna Acharya) on Tuesday to promote the film which will be releasing in Telugu too.

“My brother and I were taken aback when Victor narrated me the script. I really loved it. Apart from having everything that a ‘Dhoom’ film should have, the script has also taken me by surprise. I haven’t played a character like this till now and it has been my most challenging role both physically and mentally,” says Aamir Khan. He adds, “I play a gymnast in the film. I also went for circus training for the film besides learning tap dancing, a dance form that is high on energy. I took 45-days training for tap dancing.”

A perfectionist Khan, he reveals that he had to use body doubles for action blocks that were too demanding. “I believe in doing everything on my own but some stunts which were perilous in nature had to be performed by a body double. However, I’ve done 80 per cent of the stunts on my own.”

With the role posing plenty of challenges, Aamir insists that he enjoyed every challenge that came his way. “The more difficult it is the more fun it is to do. For circus portions, we had to rope in internationally acclaimed circus trainers to coach us. I had to be 30 feet above the ground without safety nets. Whatever stunts I did, Katrina followed it and she was equal to the task,” smiles the Khan.

Khan also had heaped high praise on Katrina who he romances in the film. He rates her as an extremely committed artist next to Amitabh Bachchan. “When I was shooting for ‘Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak’, I remember an actor rehearsing his lines next to my make-up van at Film City, Mumbai. He was mouthing a big dialogue and was constantly at it. He continued rehearsing the dialogue for 60 times which I when I’ve decided to see who he was. I had a heart attack when I’ve spotted the actor to be Mr Bachchan (laughs). He was such a big star during that time that I wondered how much effort he puts into his role. I later sat and observed his work,” he recalls and continues, “And the other person who applied herself single-mindedly remains to be Katrina for me. After we packed up for the day, she used to rehearse for two hours for her following day portions. The way she went about both ‘Kamli’ and ‘Malang’ songs speaks volumes of what she had given to the film.”

Abhishek who plays the tough cop Jai Dixit says that ‘Dhoom: 3’ is in contrast to ‘Dhoom: 2’. “’Dhoom: 2’ outdid ‘Dhoom’ and our idea coming to ‘Dhoom: 3’ was simple- make it more advanced than ‘Dhoom: 2’. The third installment is on a large scale and is more dangerous in terms of stunts.”

Abhishek has no complaints that Aamir’s role will overshadow his and Uday’s respective roles. “It’s the anti -hero role that creates the excitement and makes what ‘Dhoom’ it is today. The villain in Bond series gets tougher by each installment but both Bond and the anti-hero walk away with the acting laurels. It is important from ‘Dhoom’s perspective that anti-hero is bigger than everyone,” he observes.

He is also ‘emotional’ about the franchise. “For me it is my first hit. It turned my career and I haven’t looked back after it. Working with Uday is emotional and who would hesitate to share screen space with Aamir Khan? I am not the one for sure. I don’t accept a film to gain from it. I accept it because I see some fun it. I accept it because I feel that it can be a great film,” points out Jr Bachchan.

What has Katrina who worked all Khans – Salman, Shah Rukh and Saif-- learned from Aamir? “I learned how to play chess from him. I won’t be able to do that with the other Khans. I played too many games with him and lost all of them,” she smiles as Aamir quickly responded to it. “She plays mind games with others in real life.”

The team recalls their best moments on sets

Aamir Khan: I enjoyed collaborating with Victor for the first schedule, which was shot across US for three weeks. It was the easier said than done schedule for me as an actor. The way he directed me and helped me in my performance was unforgettable. I was also pleased to work with Abhishek and Uday as they turned out to be fun and easygoing guys. My third memorable moment was watching the child who plays my childhood self rehearse. I was awestruck when I’ve seen him performing at my house. My special moment was when I watched the film after completion. I felt we’ve achieved what we’ve set out to make,” says Aamir

Katrina Kaif: “Shooting for penultimate shot of ‘Malang’ song where both Aamir and me are spinning from straps turned out to be an exhilarating task. It was a difficult shot to execute. The circus trainers too felt it was hard since the whole body weight rests on one arm. After repeated attempts, I got the shot very well. I came down cheerfully and left the sets thinking that Aamir won’t be able to pull it off. When I came back, Aamir showed me his shot where he spun faster and much better than me. It was the most memorable and at the same time the worst experience,” smiles Katrina.

Uday Chopra: The actor who recently stated that he wouldn’t act anymore, says, “I remember the first day telling myself that you won’t be in front of the camera again and this is your last shot at acting. It was truly an experience that I cherish the most.”

Victor: “Directing Jackie Shroff, who was my childhood idol, was an emotional and unforgettable experience. Secondly directing Aamir, Abhishek, Uday and Katrina too was memorable occasionally. Of the sets we had many memorable incidents but I can’t reveal them,” says Victor.